The present invention relates to a tilt handle in which a position of a steering wheel may be adjusted so as to conform to the contour of the body of a driver and in particular relates, to a device for making it easy to adjust the inclination angle of the tilt handle.
In the prior art tilt handle, the inclination angle of a steering shaft is adjusted in a vertical direction by an adjusting mechanism to change the position of a steering wheel thereby properly positioning the steering wheel, to conform to the contour of the body of the driver. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 1, such a type of tilt handle includes a steering shaft 1, one end of which is joined to a steering wheel 2 and the other end of which is connected through a universal joint 3 to a joint shaft 5 for a steering gear box 4 or to the gear box 4 directly. A sleeve 6 rotatably supports the steering shaft 1 by a ball bearing or a bush (not shown). The sleeve 6 is fixed at its relatively upper portion through a device for adjusting an inclination angle of the steering shaft. In the prior art adjusting device as above-mentioned, however, when the fastening of the bracket is loosened by the adjusting lever, the sleeve 6 and other portions relative thereto are apt to incline downwards due to the fact that the steering shaft and the sleeve are not supported by any means. Accordingly, it is necessary that the driver holds the steering wheel to support same, when the tilt handle inclination is adjusted to a desired angle, until the lever is clamped in a desired position. Due to the sleeve and other portions relative thereto being very heavy, operation thereof requires some amount of force and becomes troublesome.